It wasn’t a well-scripted start for the UNM women’s basketball team; it was just nondescript.
Outsized and outmatched, UNM shot 26 percent in the first half, and Texas Tech dismantled the Lobos 80-53 at The Pit in their regular-season opener Saturday.
Head coach Don Flanagan said the Lobos weren’t running their offense efficiently.
“They were much more physical than we were. They were the tougher team,” he said. “We stopped running our offense, and their inside game really hurt us and our inability to shoot our free throws early. I thought that we could have stayed in the game in the first half.”
Missing free throws was the least of the Lobos’ second-half worries.
UNM committed five turnovers on its first five possessions, and Texas Tech went on an 18-4 second-half run.
If there was any upside to the Lobos getting beat up, Flanagan said, the underclassmen earned a lot of playing time.
At one point during the second half, Flanagan had four freshmen in the game with junior Porche Torrance, Brianna Taylor, Erin Boettcher, Jasmine Patterson and Tina Doughty.
Flanagan said the freshmen needed game knowledge against a quality opponent.
“It gives me an idea of what we’re lacking, though,” he said. “But I am happy some of our young players are getting this experience, because it’s a learning lesson. They are going to play throughout the season, and they will get better as they get older and mature.”
Senior Amanda Best said, for the most part, the underclassmen were composed.
“But Texas Tech is a pressure team, and they are not an easy team to play for your first game,” she said. “I thought they did some good things out there, and I know that they learned a lot from the game.”
It was the veteran Torrance, however, who led the way for the Lobos. She had the first double-double of her career, finishing with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Torrance said the Lobos are putting the loss to the Red Raiders behind them.
“It’s a nonconference game, and we can’t dwell on this loss,” she said. “It’s a tough loss in The Pit because we wanted to be undefeated. We just got to get past this game. We’ll put our uniforms on for Monday, and we’ll come out and compete.”
The Lobos hit 8-of-30 shots and missed 11 free-throw attempts. The take-home point, Flanagan said, is that the Lobos have to shoot better.
“The basket is still 10 feet, and I don’t know what the heck the story is now,” he said.
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